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Vandersteen 5a vs. B&W 802D vs. Maggie 3.6 vs.?

I've had this addiction for over thirty years and am ready to purchase my "last" set of speakers. I currently have Vandersteen 3A sig's. with v2q (pair) driven my Mac c2200 and mc402. I'm looking for the best MUSICAL speaker I can find. I've owned a ton of stuff over thte years and know that I want to stay away from anything bright or even remotely tilted in the high end. I listen to mostly rock although I don't like to listen at terribly loud levels.

I know my choices seem diverse in cost as the 3.6's are signifigantly lower but I would retain the Vandersteen subs with these.

I'm looking for advise from fellow A'goners as I believe I can trust your opinions far better than any dealer. I have heard from way too many dealers a promise of musicality only too find a product that may be rated highly but sounds like sand paper to my ears.......Thiel 3.6's!

Unfortunatley, the only high end dealer near me sells only B&W. I must travel three to four hours to find any other brand.

I'd love to hear others thoughts and input and I thank you one and all in advance!

Tim
timball

Showing 1 response by rbirke

rbirke
144 posts
 
Don't buy the Maggies. I've owned 3.6's and I loved them, but they were unable to play rock convincingly, they had a small sweet spot, and the treble was on the bright side.

I auditioned a lot of speakers and I ended up with Aerial 9's. I really like them a lot.

If I could have two full blown systems, I would own the Maggies again in a hearbeat. They do things well that most other speakers can't do at all, and I'm talking about comparisons with Wilson Watt/Puppy, Aerial 20 and some really expensive Dynaudio gear. But they have shortcomings that made them impossible to stay with (for me).

The 802D and the 5A are hard to beat, but I think the Aerial 9 and the Sonus Faber Cremona are equally good. If you have a local B&W dealer, I would go with the 802.

Nice problem you have!

Rich
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